Keeping a Secret From a Kuchiki
by nitrolead
Summary: The Kuchiki siblings are beginning to get the impression that Senbonzakura and Sode no Shirayuki aren’t letting them in on a secret. And what’s with the master-less zanpakuto that hit Rukia on the forehead? ByaRuki and SenYuki.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I finally got around to watching the Unknown Zanpakuto Tales arc and I've gotta say, I'm enjoying it bounds and leaps better that the two previous arcs. The idea for this story occurred to be several episodes in and even though I've got two other stories to worry about at the present, I just had to get it down. Well, here it is. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 01**

Suzuki, although he clearly looked to be older than his mother, was undoubtedly younger. After all, the day of his "birth" had come a mere two days after Sode no Shirayuki and Senbonzakura had lowered their guard (and their clothes) to give in to the desires that arose from their mutual attraction.

Suzuki, (as he preferred to be called) like his parents, took a human form whenever chose to materialize. He had the appearance of a young man in his mid-20s and was a bit taller than his father.

Senbonzakura had seen countless people in many forms of attire in the World of the Living in the more than one hundred years that he had been paired with Byakuya Kuchiki. But that experience did not help at all when it came to why his son wore the attire of a man hailing from 19th century Europe. Then again, he himself often pondered why he was dressed as a samurai. Did it have to do with the psyche of the wielder?

It would certainly explain why Zabimaru was split into a woman and a child: the amount of uncouthness their master exhibited was enough to necessitate the use of two forms.

Suzuki would not find his master waiting around in the zanpakuto realm and not long after his birth (two minutes to be exact), he took his zanpakuto form and dropped himself in what he thought to be a completely random location in Sereitei.

* * *

That random location happened to be Rukia Kuchiki's forehead.

"Arrgghhh!" Rukia snorted awake, "Wha…wha-wuh-zat?"

Rukia accidentally slapped herself when she aimed a little too low, thinking that a mosquito was the reason of her interrupted sleep.

Rubbing the source of her pain, she hoped that there would be no visible mark left. Rukia didn't really want to spend the following day explaining why there was a red hand print on her cheek. It didn't take much effort to imagine Renji spreading the rumor that her subconscious self was a masochist aficionada.

Just to make sure, Rukia decided to check the state of her cheek in the bathroom mirror. She pulled off the comforter covering her body and when she rolled off her futon, her shoulder came into contact with an odd object.

Rukia looked down and even though it was dark, she had been a Shinigami long enough to know what a zanpakuto looked like even in dim light. It certainly wasn't Sode no Shirayuki, as Rukia never kept the sword by her bedside.

Not to her surprise, she did not recognize the zanpakuto. But just to make sure, Rukia decided to check it against the bathroom light. Yawning, Rukia grabbed the sword and lugged it to the bathroom. It was common practice for new recruits who had zanpakuto that had not yet achieved shikai form to have their initials written at the base of the hilt. She hoped it would result in an identity so the sword could be returned.

First having cleared her cheek of any marks, Rukia unsheathed the sword and held it up high to get a good view. The blade was a solid black that strangely did not glint in the bright bathroom light. The handle was covered with intertwined red and black cloth that ended with a thin, red chain dangling near her elbow.

"This is a pretty nice looking zanpakuto."

Leaving the bathroom, she couldn't help but feel sorry for whoever the sword belonged to, as misplacing a zanpakuto was seen as irresponsible and was severely looked down upon.

Thus, whoever with shinigami was, he or she was in very, very big trouble.

"Poor bastard," she muttered.

Rukia shrugged and decided to hand over the zanpakuto to her brother in the morning. As it was a Saturday, they would both be eating breakfast together in the morning.

She leaned the weapon up against the wall next to the polished wooden frame that suspended Sode no Shirakyuki.

"You've got company," Rukia yawned as she turned in the direction of her futon.

* * *

Sode no Shirayuki was horrified. When Rukia had left to enter the bathroom, she left and quickly moved to contact Senbonzakura several rooms over: something serious had occurred.

* * *

A/N: R&R Ladies and Gents!

* * *

**EDIT**: This chapter was edited on 08/06/10. Nothing was added to the plot make-up of this chapter. On a re-reading months after submission, I noticed huge grammatical errors. The first two chapters were written during my midterms, so that explains why I didn't catch the mistakes I normally would. Aight. That's it.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hells yeah. A ByaRuki fanfic in addition to SenYuki. I probably ought to mention the second pairing in the summary, as it'll be just as important as the main pairing. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 02**

Byakuya sat eating his meal slightly disappointed that Rukia had yet to arrive for breakfast. True, it was a Saturday, but that was no excuse for her to not wake up on time.

As if on cue, Rukia entered the room dragging her-

That was not her zanpakuto.

Byakuya lifted an eyebrow, which Rukia did not notice as she usually avoided eye contact with him. Although he hated to admit it, Rukia still hesitated to engage in conversations and instantly assumed a reserved demeanor whenever he was around.

Case in point: only a few days ago, Rukia and his Lieutenant had been engaged in a heated argument over a bag of alleged stolen cookies and the moment he had entered the room, all commotion ceased. Most siblings, from his understanding, would have greeted each other and the sister would have explained why they had been arguing before diving right back into it.

But they were not most siblings.

Byakuya disliked it, but the fifty years of neglect on his part were not about to go away in an instant. Nothing was left for him to do but to work to build their relationship bit by bit.

As the humans liked to say in the World of the Living in situations that called for patience: "Rome was not built in a day."

"Nii-sama?" Rukia asked.

"Yes?"

"Um… I found this zanpkauto in my room early this morning," Rukia extended her arm, lifting the sword to his level.

Byakuya's brow furrowed (but not too much). It wasn't every day that a zanpakuto appeared out of the blue.

"There's no name on it," Rukia offered, staring at the blade, "and I couldn't sense any reiatsu on it."

"No, there is a trace of reiatsu on it. Not a shinigami's, but that of a zanpakuto." Byakuya rubbed his chin, clearly intrigued, "This is strange."

This could not be a fiend zanpakuto. Had it killed its' master, it would have immediately materialized after losing its' rationality. The only logical conclusion was that a negligent shinigami had lost it. Byakuya made a note to charge the owner of the zanpakuto for trespassing on private property.

Byakuya looked up to find Rukia's gaze on him. "Yes?"

"What do you plan to do with it? If you don't mind my asking," she quickly added.

"I will leave the zanpakuto in my office and will take it to the Commander-General on Monday," Byakuya replied.

"Oh." Rukia looked away and began eating her breakfast.

"Rukia," Byakuya spoke suddenly, "although this is not your zanpakuto, you should have treated it with respect."

"I apologize." Rukia lowered her gaze to her lap, knowing her brother was referring to her dragging of the sword.

Byakuya sighed, but not visibly. What a way to start off the morning: with a lecture.

* * *

"This is not good."

Sode no Shirayuki stared dumbfounded at the man before her. "Is that all you can say?"

"What else is there to say?"

The woman threw her hands up. "That you should've kept it in your pants!"

"Now listen," Senbonzakura said offended and a little fearful, as it took must effort to irritate an ice-based zanpakuto, "It takes two for this to happen."

"I didn't even _know_ this could happen," she shook her head in frustration. "Not for us at least."

The man sighed. "Well, in that we agree."

There was a short silence that was broken by Sode no Shirayuki's laugh.

Senbonzakura was not one to admit such feelings, but he loved it when she laughed, as it caused a heart-warming sensation to grow within him. He had to be careful about shielding his emotions though. The last thing he wanted was for his master to find out about his relationship with Sode no Shirayuki, especially now with this latest development.

"Why are you laughing?"

The woman shook her head stifling the last of her laughs, "It's difficult to believe that we have a son."

Senbonzakura smiled behind his mask. "Have you met him?"

"I was actually going to ask you that."

As if reading each other's thoughts, both Senbonzakura and Sode no Shirayuki ventured into the realm all the zanpakuto used as common grounds.

When the pair arrived, they were welcomed by Kazeshini's hoot. "Well, well. If it isn't Sereitei's newest mommy and daddy."

The immediate area froze all of a sudden, probably from Sode no Shirayuki realizing the same thing: there was no way to prevent the zanpakuto here from telling their masters of this news. The situation had just worsened.

_I can always threaten him…_

"How did you find out?" Senbonzakura demanded patiently.

"Straight from the horse's mouth," Kazeshini grinned.

"And where is…?"

"Suzuki? I'll call him over. Hey! Suzuki! C'mere will ya?"

* * *

A/N: This was written when I should've been studying for my midterm. From here on out, I pledge that I will respond to any comments I get. I'm usually good to do so, but circumstances prevented me from replying to last chapters' reviewers. R&R Ladies and Gentlemen!

* * *

**EDIT:** This chapter was edited on 08/06/10. Nothing was added to the plot make-up of this chapter. On a re-reading months after submission, I noticed huge grammatical errors. The first two chapters were written during my midterms, so that explains why I didn't catch the mistakes I normally would. Aight. That's it.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So, it's been almost five months since the last update. The serious lack of attention on my part for this story was partly due to writer's block and partly due to having plot bunnies with my other stories. But, I can safely say that I've got the next two or three chapters already planned out in my head, so you can expect regular updates. In my case, "regular" means every 10-14 days. Anyhoo, I'm really excited to be returning to this story. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 03**

"I find the current state of affairs difficult to comprehend," Senbonzakura said as he and Sode no Shirayuki strolled through the wintry scenery that made up the latter's realm, "but until we can get a full grasp on the situation, we must keep our masters unaware of Suzuki's existance."

The comment must have fallen on deaf ears, as the woman quietly walking through the soft snow made no reply. Senbonzakura was not bothered by her silence, as from behind his mask, he could see that his partner was in deep thought. He had no way of knowing if Sode no Shirayuki had even heard his remark or anything else he had said up to that moment, but he wasn't about to pry on it as he had some of his own thoughts to recollect.

With that, the pair of zanpakutos continued their trek through the ankle-high powdery snow in silence.

* * *

_Five Hours Earlier..._

_"Greetings," the man offered Senbonzakura and Sode no Sirayuki a smile as he shook both their hands (shifting his polished wooden cane to his left), "Kazeshini mentioned you two wanted to speak to me? It's a pleasure to meet the both of you."_

_Neither spoke to return the greeting as both were struck by their son's amiability. Senbonzakura lowered his gaze to meet Sode no Shirayuki's and in her light gray eyes found that their thoughts were on the same wavelength: where had that come from? It certainly wasn't a trait inherited from either of them, as the duo would be the first to admit that they were reserved individuals. Then again, given that his "birth" differed from the natural kind that was predominant in the World of the Living and in Soul Society, it would be safe to assume that genetics worked differently._

_"Do you know who we are?" Senbonzakura broke the silence while his eyes lifted off his partner's to roam over his son's physical appearance. He could tell Sode no Shirayuki was doing the same: lots of information could be gathered about an individual's character just by analyzing his or her state of dress._

_The man kept a smile going throughout the impromptu inspection even though in actuality he was feeling uneasy. The feature that stuck out the most were the eyes that could have only come from his mother. The young man had short, messy brown locks protruding from beneath the black bowler hat that he was wearing. A strip of red silk circled the hat: it served as a good preview to the rest of his attire, as the entirety of his three piece suit was black save for the satin dress shirt contrasting his black tie._

_"Yes, Ruri'iro Kujaku told me that you are my parents," the man cleared his throat as he awkwardly played with his necktie, "He sensed miniscule amounts of both your reiatsus intertwined within my own."_

_Senbonzakura would pinch his nose or face-palm like the present situation clearly demanded, but his mask would probably gain some damage given the level of frustration he was presently feeling. Sode no Shirayuki shared the same sentiment judging by the sudden chill he felt emanate from her hand despite the gloved exterior of his own._

_It was bad enough already that Kazeshini knew about the origins of the man before them, but with Ruri'iro Kujaku… it was safe to assume that all the zanpakutos knew by now. All of them. Right down to the zanpakutos loafing about waiting for their wielders to gain enough training and expertise at the Academy to make first contact._

_"What's your name?" Sode no Shirayuki spoke for the first time. Senbonzakura approved of the course the conversation was taking: there was no use in getting upset over something that could no longer be changed. Presently, it was only logical to continue to find out more about their son._

_"You may call me 'Suzuki'," the well-tailored man replied, finally ceasing to tinker with his tie now that he wasn't being probed._

_A silence flowed into the conversation. The wind rustled the trees and spread the loose leaves all around, the only sound of civilization coming from the small chatter emanating from a gathered group of zanpakuto in the distance._

_"Young man," Senbonzakura assumed a stern voice, "your mother requested a name, not what you prefer to be called."_

_The situation immediately turned awkward, as the trio knew the last statement had made their situation more real than it already was. Senbonzakura and Sode no Shirayuki had been made parents overnight and it was highly doubtful that Suzuki would take his father's disappointment to heart and give a proper reply. The parent-child relationship took years to forge and they had been denied those years. Furthermore, Suzuki wasn't a child- he was a fully grown man bearing the mind of an adult._

_Senbonzakura felt the old familiar feeling of irritation creep back. _

_"I apologize," Suzuki lowered his head slightly, the rim of his bowler hat covering his gray eyes, "but I can tell no one my name until my master speaks it."_

_The silver-haired woman blinked, confused. "Was your search unsuccessful?"_

_"Yes, ma'am." Suzuki looked up, "I understand that it is my master who must first make contact with me, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to see how far along he is in his training."_

_Behind his mask, Senbonzakura lifted an eyebrow, "What makes you so sure the wielder is a man?"_

_Suzuki cocked his head, his features puzzled, "Aren't wielders and zanpakutos of the same gender?"_

_Despite having the complexion of a man in his mid-twenties, his question proved that Suzuki was inexperienced in the ways and workings of the world. But this was no hindrance, as the bowler-hatted man had already proven he was of an independent nature in his decision to set out to find his wielder._

_"Mostly, but there are exceptions," Sode no Shirayuki replied, "Is it possible that you overlooked the female Shinigami?"_

_Suzuki shook his head. "I focused on reiatsu solely."_

_"It could be that your inexperience accounts for your result."_

_The young man sent his father an annoyed look. "Perhaps."_

_Sode no Shirayuki felt a tense vibe slowly radiating from both men._

_"It was nice to meet you, Suzuki." The silver-haired woman placed a hand on Senbonzakura's forearm deciding to call it a day, "We would stay longer, but we must return to our masters."_

_Suzuki nodded and tipped his hat. "Until next time."_

* * *

Before leaving, they had succeeded in convincing the other zanpakutos to refrain from informing their respective masters of Suzuki's existence and origin. All it took was mention of Ryuujin Jakka's support to close any potential loose lips. Just as Senbonzakura finished replaying the day's events in his mind, the woman two steps ahead stopped in her tracks.

"Is something wrong?"

Sode no Shirayuki slowly turned around to face him. "You're right. We must keep this silent from both Byakuya and Rukia."

Senbonzakura shifted his gaze off the woman and observed the sky as it gently powdered the realm with soft snow.

"Do you think the others noticed?"

"Aside from Ryuujin Jakka? Some will, eventually," he answered knowing to what she was referring to. "The zanpakuto with Captains for masters will pick up on the situation very soon."

The couple kept on walking.

"We mustn't get attached," Sode no Shirayuki said with slight difficulty, "There's nothing we can do for Suzuki."

The samurai nodded as he took her hand, "Nothing much can be done for a zanpakuto whose wielder does not exist."

* * *

A/N: R&R Ladies and Gents!


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